The "true emergency" angle is a big trump card in the licensing discussion and there's not much argument against that. And I can certainly see the logic in those who say no license is required if only FRS-only channels are used. If someone is educated enough about the topic to knowledgably defend that claim using the flawed FCC regs, then I respect that.

Do you have a Rino 5xx? Nice unit. And it's even a "more real" GMRS radio compared to the "bubblepack" hybrids because it has the full complement of 22 FRS/GMRS channels, plus the 8 GMRS repeater frequency pairs. (But a non-detachable antenna) If that's not a GMRS radio, then I don't know what is. I noticed that the FCC licensing info is buried way back on page 113 of the Rino manual. What average person is going to get that far in the manual, or even care at that point?

I don't blame users so much as I blame manufacturers and the FCC for letting this mess happen. I know, a somewhat esoteric, niche mess, but a mess nonetheless. I just thought of another analogy besides my full auto one.

Picture this: It's like taking a powerful prescription-only medication like Oxycontin, but then the drug company combines it with an over-the-counter medication like Tylenol so that it can advertise the new combo pill as being really good for pain and making you feel better--much better than plain old Tylenol. Then they convince the FDA to let them sell the pill over-the-counter to anyone who wants it. Hey, folks! Buy my pill! Powerful pain-killing effect! No prescription necessary! Not surprisingly, it sells like hot cakes and with such high volume, prices come way down compared to prescription Oxy and the company even stops making plain old Tylenol to concentrate on this new combo pill. But note the details: Inside each box is a microscopic-print package insert telling users that if they use a pill splitter to break the tablet and only take the Tylenol half, then they don't need a prescription. But if the buyer wants to take the Oxycontin, then they first need to go get a prescription from their doctor before they can swallow the tablet. Ridiculous sounding, isn't it? Who's going to do that? But as I see it, that's basically the current legal and economic situation with these FRS/GMRS hybrids today and the confusing situation that consumers find themselves in.

You're mixing apples and oranges.

The wattage tells you how much power the radio transmits with. It tells you absolutely nothing about its reception.

However, the more power the guy you're talking to is transmitting with, the more likely you are to hear him, generally speaking.

Now, I'm putting on my Nomex flame-proof suit for my next comment.

The consumer-grade of these radios are toys, period. Their antennas tend to have negative gain (they are what's called a "dummy load") and are generally not replaceable. Antennas are among the most important component on a radio. I can hit distant repeaters on 1 watt with a good antenna that are unreachable with 5 watts and a crummy one.

They also have a vast array of incompatiable subaudiable tones for "privacy" (they have no privacy) and their marketing is full of outright lies. And they almost never, if ever, come even remotely close to their advertised range, even given the most perfect environmental conditions.

I think these radios are great for kids to play with or for communicating between cars following one another on the highway, but outside of very limited domains, I think the consumer models of these radios should be absolutely avoided for any serious purpose.

If you really want one, get the professional GMRS models made by Motorola, not the ones you'll find at Walmart. I believe someone recomended some models earlier in this thread.

I think your analogy is a good one. I remember reading the license warning when I was buying the unit, but to be honest I wasn't overly concerned with it since I knew I'd rarely, if ever, use those channels. It's like buying a Viper--"of course I'll never exceed the posted speed limit. No sir. Not me." <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I'm not familiar with the 5xx. I just have the 110. It's pretty basic but it gets me there and back again. Even it has more features than I'll ever use.

So will the HAM radio features be different than the walkie talkie features on NEXTEL phones?